CUCC Goes West

Les Salnick

Eight members of the Board of Directors of the Canada Ukraine Chamber of Commerce travelled to Edmonton, Alta., March 14 to attend the first Board of Directors meeting to be held in the West, on Thursday, March 15. The group from Toronto joined with two Edmonton board members, (Slava Shulakewych and John W. Chomiak) and brought sufficient proxies to ensure a quorum at the meeting.

The meeting was the brain child of one of our Western board members, Mr. John Chomiak. The CUCC owes John a debt of gratitude for organizing and coordinating as well as sponsoring the events during our visit to Western Canada.

 Everything started with an evening on Wednesday, March 14 when the board gathered for an unusual Elk steak dinner at the Hardware Grill, a great, Western restaurant where both the food and the wine were superb.

 Next morning, sharp at 7:30 am we greeted the Premier of Alberta, the Honourable Ed Stelmach. Mr. Stelmach was our Keynote Speaker and provided us with a colourful and interesting talk. It is interesting to note is the fact that Ed did not learn English until he went to school at the tender age of 5 however, he is still fluent in the Ukrainian language.

 At 9:30 am we proceeded with the board meeting followed by lunch. Mr. Chomiak arranged for the Hon. Gene Zwoszdesky to be the Luncheon Speaker. Gene is a 3rd generation Canadian, who speaks Ukrainian well. He is also on a Member of Provincial Parliament and the Alberta Legislature House Speaker. Needless to say, Gene spoke well and included some humorous antidotes in his speech.

 Moving along, the CUCC Board had a meeting at 2:00 pm, which included John Boyko, president of  CUDA (Canada Ukraine Development Association). The main topic of discussion with CUDA was the possibility of joining with CUCC sometime soon in the future.

During the afternoon session on March 15, the directors of the CUCC present in Edmonton had the pleasure of listening to Aleksandar Pecuh, Mike Henry and Roman Petryshyn discuss  the wonderful work done raising funds for Grant MacEwan College. We also heard of the exchanges of academic and business projects between Ukraine and Canada. In just over 30 years, Grant MacEwan College has grown to become the largest college in Western Canada, serving nearly 40,000 learners each and every year in over 70 certificate, diploma, applied degree, university transfer and bachelor degree programs.

 The day’s events were completed with a cocktail reception party and dinner in honour of the Ambassador of Ukraine in Canada, Dr Ihor Ostash. The Ambassador attended with his wife and son. As usual, he spoke well and was the hit of the evening.

 The most difficult part of our trip was rising at 6:00 am on the morning of March 16 to catch our plane back East. Fortunately no one was left behind.